(Newser)
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The Texas runaway who was mistakenly deported to Colombia will be handed over to American authorities today, clearing the way for her return to the US. Officials in both Colombia and the US are investigating how Jakadrien Turner, 15, who is now pregnant, ended up in Bogota, CNN reports. US Immigration and Customs says reports that the teen was deported after giving a name that happened to match that of an illegal alien are untrue.

According to ICE, Turner assumed the identity of a 21-year-old Colombian woman—Tika Lanay Cortez—after being arrested for theft in Houston and told cops she had no legal status in the US, the Washington Post reports. The agency says she went through an entire trial and served time under the fake name, and, despite not speaking Spanish, maintained the false identity during an interview at the Colombian consulate before being deported. Her family's lawyer accuses the agency of "dropping the ball," saying its story doesn't add up. "I don't buy that she had the wherewithal to be able to bamboozle the government," he says.

I assume that during her deportation hearing this innocent teenager just kept her answers to a short “Si” or “No” and that must have been enough for the immigration folks to have deported her to Columbia.

shocking.magenta

Jan 6, 2012 10:12 AM CST

So she stuck with her lie through everything, including deportation? I don't get it. Why?

Mr_Joshua

Jan 6, 2012 7:31 AM CST

That a 15 year old could fool ICE speaks volumes for the organization. Regardless of her false name, there is no way this should have happened. Just more incompetent public servants now trying to cover their asses by blaming a 15 year old child. I say we take all the ICE officials involved and deport them to ...say, Liberia. And you can call me....................Mr Joshua